KONKOLA COPPER MINES PLC

Zambia’s largest integrated copper producer

KCM is Zambia’s largest integrated copper producer, with an entire production value chain comprising of open pit and underground mines, concentrators, a state-of-the-art smelter, a tailings leach plant and a refinery. It is the only mining company in the country that has operations in four locations, including Chingola, Chililabombwe, Nampundwe and Kitwe, playing a key role in the communities around these mining areas.

Mining

KCM has open pit and underground mines at Nchanga and Konkola. The largest of the mine assets, Konkola, is the most northerly of the Copperbelt mines and is located 26 kilometres from Chingola. The mine has three operating shafts – Shaft No. 4, Shaft No. 3 and Shaft No. 1. Sinking of the No. 4 Shaft reached its desired depth of 1,500 metres in 2012. The mid-shaft loading was completed in April 2010 and bottom shaft loading was commissioned in 2012.

KCM Contact Details

Processing

The company has three concentrators, two at Nchanga and one at Konkola. The two Nchanga concentrators (East mill and West mill) were recently modernized. A new concentrator was commissioned at Konkola in 2008.

The Nchanga smelter was commissioned in 2008, incorporating technology from Outotec, Finland. The smelter processes ore from Konkola, Nchanga and other third party concentrates and it has a capacity of 311,000t pa. The smelter has met global benchmark environmental performance as it captures 99.6% of sulphur emissions. The main refinery at Nkana uses electrolysis to process copper anodes to LME A grade copper cathodes. It has been expanded to accommodate the increased anode production from the Nchanga smelter.

The Nchanga Tailings Leach Plant (TLP), one of the largest of its kind in the world, processes tailings from the Nchanga concentrators…

Processing

The company has three concentrators, two at Nchanga and one at Konkola. The two Nchanga concentrators (East mill and West mill) were recently modernized. A new concentrator was commissioned at Konkola in 2008.

The Nchanga smelter was commissioned in 2008, incorporating technology from Outotec, Finland. The smelter processes ore from Konkola, Nchanga and other third party concentrates and it has a capacity of 311,000t pa. The smelter has met global benchmark environmental performance as it captures 99.6% of sulphur emissions. The main refinery at Nkana uses electrolysis to process copper anodes to LME A grade copper cathodes. It has been expanded to accommodate the increased anode production from the Nchanga smelter.

The Nchanga Tailings Leach Plant (TLP), one of the largest of its kind in the world, processes tailings from the Nchanga concentrators and stockpiled tailings to produce copper. The TLP extracts copper directly to cathodes from concentrate solution using electrolysis. Since inception of the mine, refractory ore from the copper production process was surface stockpiled. KCM has now developed a process to extract copper from the refractory ore stockpile.

The company also produces several by-products, including sulphuric acid produced from the smelting process, which is largely consumed in the leaching process. The new Nchanga smelter also has the capability to recover cobalt from copper concentrates. The cobalt which comes in the form of a copper-cobalt alloy is sold to markets mainly in Asia. A final by-product of the refinery process is slime which is also exported.

Corporate Social Responsibility

The company operates two hospitals and eight satellite clinics. KCM also runs two schools with about 2,200 pupils. The company’s education interventions comprise providing scholarships for A-level graduates from its Konkola and Nchanga Trust Schools to study in mainly mining related fields at local and foreign universities.

KCM has one of the largest malaria roll-back programmes in Zambia. It has rolled-out several community health initiatives that include the distribution of 23,000 free eye glasses, providing artificial limbs and undertaking eye cataract operations. The company is also involved in the sponsorship of three football teams in the top Zambian soccer leagues.

KCM is committed to the development of the local communities through various income generating projects. The company has also contributed to various infrastructure development initiatives including the development of road infrastructure and construction of boreholes for local communities.

Extract from 2018 annual report

Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) reported total revenue of K12,251.43 million (US$1,283.0 million) for the financial year ended 31st March 2018 [(2017:K8,621.47 million (US$874.3 million)]. The increase in revenue was attributed to higher metal prices and increased sales volumes. The net loss for the year was at K1,102 million (US$115.4 million) [(2017: K1,367.72 (US$138.7 million loss)].

Total finished copper production during the financial year increased by 9 percent to 195,300 tonnes for the year ending March 2018 (2017: 179 800 tonnes) compared to the previous financial year.

During the year under review, KCM mine metal production volumes remained subdued as lower feed grades and lower copper recoveries at the Tailings Leach Plant offset improvements in production output at both Nchanga and Konkola.

Extract from 2017 annual report

Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) reported total revenue of K8,621.47 million (US$874.3 million) for the financial year ended 31st March 2017 (2016: K9,607.04 million (US$972.5 million). The reduction in revenue was attributed to lower metal prices through a large part of the financial year, with copper prices surging upwards in the latter quarter thereof. The net loss for the year was at K1,367.72 million (US$138.7 million) (2016: K3,685.75 million (US$373.1 million loss).

Total finished copper production during the financial year was marginally down 1.1% to 180 000 tonnes for the year ended March 2017 (2016: 182 000) compared to the previous financial year.

During the year under review, KCM production volumes were constrained due to the Nchanga Underground Mine being placed under care and maintenance on the tail end of the previous financial year and lower equipment availability across other operating units.